Music News (5/30/13)

Big Machine Music (BMM) has appointed Alex Heddle to the newly-created Director of Music Publishing position. BMM is home to such hit artists/songwriters as Justin Moore, Greg Bates, Dustin Lynch and Raul Malo (of The Mavericks), along with hot newcomer RaeLynn.

In his new role, Heddle will assist with day-to-day management of the BMM roster and creative representation of the catalog. With a background in songwriter and artist relations, the Belmont University graduate most recently served as the Creative Director for both Tom Leis Music and Love Monkey Music. He is responsible for song placements for hit acts such as Lady Antebellum, Thompson Square and Alan Jackson, among many others.

The BMM catalog includes “Til My Last Day” (Moore), “Cowboys and Angels” (Lynch), “Did It For The Girl” (Bates), “From A Table Away” (Sunny Sweeney), and “She Cranks My Tractor” (Lynch) as well as tracks on the The Music Of Nashville (Season 1, Volume 1) soundtrack, from the ABC hit drama. The Nashville-based publishing company also recently created a joint venture with Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald’s Prescription Songs, allowing the two companies to co-publish songwriters and artists whose unique talents translate across genres.

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Big Deal Music has added Greg Gallo as Creative Director in Nashville, working alongside Dale Bobo and Pete Robinson.

Gallo, a Raleigh, N.C. native, has worked with Big Loud Shirt and Ash Street before becoming a partner at Revelry Music Group, and Gallo & Landers Music.

To date, the Big Deal Music roster includes: My Morning Jacket, Jim James, The Black Angels, Ethan Johns, Missy Higgins, FIDLAR, The Walkmen, Korey Dane and songwriters Brad Tursi and Lee Anna McCollum. Additional new signings will be announced in the coming months.

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Gilles Godard (Photo: Casey Curry)

ole has named Gilles Godard to the newly created corporate role of Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Development. In the role, Godard will focus on ole stakeholder and industry relations worldwide to drive brand awareness, create market opportunities and drive increased revenue. He will also continue to provide advice and counsel to the creative teams and liaise with writers as required.

Godard has been with ole for seven years, most recently as its Chief Creative Officer in Nashville. During his tenure with the company Godard has been instrumental in facilitating major ole acquisitions such as Jody Williams Music and Blacktop.

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The United Way has begun its search for songs with a positive message for use in its Stuff the Bus campaign.

The 2013 Live United Song Contest will accept entries through June 12, to be judged by an industry panel for lyrics, melody, production and relevancy to United Way’s mission to advance the common good.

Top ten finalists will be selected to perform at The Listening Room Café during United Way’s Stuff the Bus Launch Concert on Thursday, June 20 from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. A winner will be chosen at the event for inclusion in an upcoming United Way Day of Action video, which will be featured on digital platforms.

Each song requires an entry fee of $10, which will benefit United Way’s Stuff the Bus school supply drive to benefit at-risk Nashville students. All finalists must be available to attend and perform at the June 20 event.

To submit an entry for the contest, click here.

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The Nashville Screenwriters Conference returns to the Union Station Hotel this weekend, running May 31 to June 2, 2013. The successful, open-to-the-public conference brings Hollywood’s top writers, producers, directors, actors and studio executives together with aspiring screenwriters, songwriters and those interested in film, TV and music the opportunity to network and learn.

Anastasia Brown’s popular Music In the Movies Luncheon and Panel is part of the conference, and is scheduled for Saturday, June 1, from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Separate registration is required. Brown, of Format Entertainment, has worked on films including It’s Complicated, Footloose, August Rush and Taken. The panel will feature top music supervisors Manish Raval, Julia Michels, Alicen Schneider, Madonna Wade-Reed, Dawn Soler and Amy Dunning offering advice for songwriters, composers, artists and publishers hoping to tap into the world of song placement in television and film.

Carnival Music is sponsoring the Silverscreen Event, which also requires a separate ticket. The all-star songwriter concert is set for Saturday, 6:30 to 10:00 p.m. at The Bridge Building on the Cumberland River pedestrian bridge.

Actress and writer Doris Roberts (best known as “Marie” from Everybody Loves Raymond) will help kick off the conference. She and actor/writer Fred Willard will be doing a special panel called, “The Four “Cs” of Comedy: Creativity, Communication, Compassion, and Champagne. When All Else Fails, Use the Last One.”

Other highlights of this year’s conference will include the “Nuts & Bolts” writing panel with the creator of the show Weeds.

For more information, the full schedule, or to purchase tickets visit www.nashscreen.com.

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Lorene Mann, a co-founder of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), died Friday, May 24.

The singer-songwriter was 76 years old. While serving as the organization’s secretary in the early 1970s, she came up with the slogan “It All Begins With a Song.” This remains the motto of the NSAI to this day.

Mann was a native of rural Tennessee, born in Huntland, near the Alabama border, on Jan. 4, 1937 as the youngest of 10 children. She began playing guitar at age 12 and moved to Nashville to pursue a songwriting career in 1956.

She wrote such notable successes as the 1960 Kitty Wells top-10 hit “Left to Right,” the 1962 Rex Allen smash “Don’t Go Near the Indians,” Skeeter Davis’s 1962 hit “Something Precious” and the 1974 Jerry Wallace top-10 charting “My Wife’s House.”

Read more at MusicRow.com.